This invention relates to the field of genetic markers for disease.
In most cases the complex genetic contribution to cancer and other disease susceptibility remains to be elucidated. Efforts have focused on identification of potentially pathogenetic allelic variants of individual candidate loci. To increase the probability of identifying such variants, this invention focuses on interaction of candidate loci. According to this invention, it is a candidate locus interaction, rather than simply a candidate gene inquiry, that serves as the principal means of discovery.